Persona 4: Facing the True Self
by Kilimunjaro
Summary: A re-telling of Persona 4 The Golden, but with a heavier focus on the characters and the time they spend together, with really only the key story points coming into play. Yu also has a different backstory from the canon. Romance comes into play in the later story, with YuxNaoto as the main focus.
1. Chapter 1: Introductions

**Author's Notes:** First off, a Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the Persona Franchise.

Anyways, onto my notes;

As will probably soon become evident, this is my first story. I love the Persona series, particularly 4 (with P3P as a close second), so this is really just me self-indulging. Ever since my friend brought me into the Series, I've always been tossing ideas back and forth in my head, playing with my own little headcanons and alterations to the story, and as something of a writing practice began re-writing Persona 4 Golden with my own interpretation of Yu and the cast, though Yu was the only one who really significantly stood out. After the same friend read over my story and convinced me to upload it here (and since I had no clue what I was doing, she also actually walked me through uploading it here), I changed my plan from a total re-write to a re-write with focus on smaller chunks of the story - I figured a re-write of the whole story would probably become long and boring quickly, so I decided I'd focus more on the characters and interactions with the story coming back into it during the key events to keep things different. Another note to make is that I live in the UK, and I'm terrible with how Japanese honorifics work, so there probably won't be a lot of them, if any, in my story. If anyone would like to offer help on the matter, I wouldn't mind at all.

More onto the story itself, for the this chapter and maybe the next two, since it establishes a lot of the story's foundations it follows the game closer than I'd like it to with slightly different dialogues since Yu comes from a very strict and oppressive home life here. For this particular reason, you'll see I've left out Igor contacting Yu on the train - I couldn't think of anything to make it differ from the actual in-game version at all, since Yu doesn't have many thoughts or dialogue on the matter, and decided to pick it up from Yu leaving the train station instead. I'd also like to take a quick moment and apologise, as I understand that the first two or three chapters won't be entirely interesting to everyone because of how close they are to the story, and really only differ on the matter of Yu himself, and would also like to thank anyone in advance who decides to stick around or keep an eye on the story despite this.  
From Yu awakening to his power onwards is when I take more liberties with the story, as it's when things start picking up. I also might wind up switching to a first person narrative at that point, as I'd already written up to that event in 3rd person when I decided I liked the idea of a 1st person narrative a little better, and didn't want to have to edit everything over again. However, as I continue on with the story, I'll be reading the reviews to see what people think and will take any opinions or constructive criticisms to heart. For example, if you think it's best I avoid switching narrative perspectives, or you have advice or criticisms on my style of writing or how I write the characters or anything at all, just tell me so! Don't be afraid to leave your thoughts, 'cause anything that helps me improve the story and entertain more people with it is greatly appreciated!

A final point to make before we get to the story is, depending on what people think of this or how well it's received, I have another fanfic that takes place in the same world as this re-write, but set after the events of Arena Ultimax. It concerns Yu's Shadow and delves more into his home life, and I'll upload it if this all goes well.

 **Anyway, now that I've finished rambling, let's actually get to the story.**

* * *

Yu left the YasoInaba Station, and walked out into the car park. It was a cloudy day. He quickly checked the text he received from Dojima;  
 _  
"Meet us outside YasoInaba station at 4pm."_

He glanced up at the corner of the screen to check the time, when he heard a man's voice call to him from the side.  
"Hey! Over Here!"

He looked over and spotted the man. Dark hair, dark eyes, square jaw, 5 o'clock shadow. Handsome face. He wore a dark grey shirt with a red tie, black suit pants and dress shoes. He had a blazer slung over his left shoulder, and a little girl in a pink dress stood beside him. He smiled as Yu approached him.  
"Well, you're more handsome in person than in your photo", he chuckled. "Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima. I'll be looking after you. Uhm, let's see... I'm your mother's younger brother... aaand that about sums it up." He smiled at him.

Yu gave a slight and quick bow with his answer.  
"Thank you sir, it's nice to meet you."

Dojima paused for a second, gave an awkward chuckle and replied;  
"Heh... You probably don't remember, but uh, we've met before. I've changed your diapers before, you know."  
He paused again, waiting for a response to his small joke. When none came, his smile faltered a little and he gently nudged the younger girl forward.  
"Uh, T-This here's my daughter. Come on Nanako; introduce yourself to your cousin!" He said encouragingly.

The girl glanced up to Yu. When she met eyes with him, she sidled closer to her father and looked away.  
"...'lo..." she mumbled. Yu responded with a polite nod and a ghost of a smile, and Nanako followed this by darting behind Dojima and hiding behind his blazer. Dojima looked down at her with a small chuckle.  
"What're you so shy for? Usually, you're so friendly, haha-"

He was interrupted by Nanako slapping him across the back. Yu instantly gave a start, froze and stared wide-eyed at him, but Dojima only laughed it off and ruffled her hair, while she blushed furiously and looked down at the ground. A moment later, Yu realised she was now staring worriedly at him, probably because of how tense he had become. He immediately relaxed and tried calming himself down, but now Dojima stood there looking puzzled.  
An awkward silence hung in the air.

"Well then... Let's get going. My uh, car's over there." Dojima said uncomfortably, and started heading for the car. Yu quietly followed along behind him. Great. He had only arrived in this new town and already he was acting up again. Before he had time to scold himself any further, he bumped into a girl only a little shorter than him, but carried on past her.

"...Hey." The girl called to him.

He turned to face her. She had black, stylized hair, a small red choker, a sleeveless white shirt with a black belt around her waist and a red mini-skirt. She had black and white striped stockings and black boots. She was holding a small piece of paper in her gloved hand.  
"You dropped this."

He gave another slight bow and took the paper from her. "Thank you, miss."

"Uhm, it's okay. All I really did was pick it up." She chuckled politely.

Yu examined the paper. It was a note his mother had gave him with Dojima's address on it. When he looked up to thank her once more, she was already walking away. He pocketed the note.

"What's wrong?" Dojima shouted over from the car. Yu jumped slightly and immediately made his way over to the car.

* * *

On the way home, Dojima clicked his tongue and tapped the fuel gauge.

"Of course I'm low on gas..."

He quickly began making his way over to the local gas station. As they pulled in, a grey haired attendant ran over, and greeted them into the station. As Nanako and Dojima left the car, Nanako said that she needed the bathroom.

"Can you find the bathroom by yourself?" He asked her, closing the door and briefly nodding in acknowledgement to the attendant. Yu also exited the car, desperately needing to stretch his legs.

Nanako gave a quick nod and walked off, but paused for a moment on her way. The attendant caught this and turned to her.

"It's in the back, to your left. You know which way's left? The side you don't hold your chopsticks in."  
Nanako turned around with a slightly offended expression on her face.

"I know... Geez..." She resumed her walk to the bathroom. Yu turned his attention to Dojima and the attendant's conversation.

"You taking a trip?"

"Nah, we just went to pick him up", Dojima said gesturing behind him with his thumb to Yu. "He just moved here from the Big City."

"The City, huh...?" The attendant said with a slight interest in their voice.

"Fill up my car while you're at it", Dojima said, interrupting the attendant's thought, "Regular's fine."

The attendant however, entirely unfazed by Dojima's interruption, and gave an enthusiastic "Right away, Sir!" as they made their way over to the pumps.  
Dojima gave a faint sigh, stretched and muttered "Good time as any for a smoke..." before wandering off somewhere to the side.

"Are you in high school?" Yu gave a start and turned around to notice the attendant was talking to him. He gave a quick nod.

"Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here?" they asked next, but before he could reply they were already making their next point. "There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs. Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now."  
The attendant took a step toward him and extended their hand.

"Give it some thought, why don't you? We don't mind if you're a student."

"Uhm, Okay..." he replied, trying to be polite but caught off guard by the attendant's enthusiasm. He took the attendant's hand and shook it, as Nanako made her way back over to the car. The attendant, mistaking the footsteps for Dojima's, quickly hurried off, explaining that they should get back to work. He looked over to Nanako, who was watching him from the front of the car. As he met her eyes, there was a pulse in his head and his vision flashed white, causing him to lose balance and fall against the car. Whispers crept along the back of his mind, but were too quiet for him to focus on. Shortly after, they were gone. When his vision returned, Nanako stood in front of him, looking up at him.

"...Are you okay? Did you get carsick? You don't look too good..."

He did feel dizzy, but he wasn't sure what all that was... Was he just exhausted from the long journey?  
Dojima soon appeared, resting his hand on Yu's shoulder and looking down at him with concern.

"What's Wrong? You okay?"

Yu nodded slightly. "Just felt a little light headed is all."

"That's understandable", he nodded knowingly. "You _have_ had a long journey. Why not take a little walk, get some fresh air?" Yu shook his head.

"N-No, that's quite alright sir, I don't mean to be a burden..."

Dojima gave a friendly chuckle and replied, "Nonsense, just come let me know when you're ready to go again. Can't have you throwing up in my car, can I?" When Yu only nodded in response to the joke, Dojima's smile faltered again and he gave a small cough. "Well, uh, we'll be here when you need us. Go get your fresh air. After all, with the shopping district so close to the house so you should go get to know where all the stores are." He smiled gently.  
Yu gave a thankful smile and gingerly walked out into the street. He looked around and saw a bookstore, a tofu store, a blacksmith's and an herbal medicine store... _Inaba certainly has some varied and... exotic wares_. _There isn't stuff like this back home.  
_ There were more shops further on, but he didn't want to wander too far from Dojima. On his way back, he stopped to see the girl from the train station leaning against a lamp post. He thought for a moment. Maybe if he went over, thanked her for picking up the note earlier and had a quick chat with her, he could make a friend here.

 _Wait. Friend...? He could make a friend?_

He'd never been good with people and even back home, the only people he could even _maybe_ consider as friends were people asking to copy his notes in class...  
With this new prospect in mind, he made his way on over to the girl. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, and after a moment of deliberation he decided to clear his throat to catch her attention. She jumped a little and snapped her head round to him, pausing to focus on his face for a moment.

"Hm...? Have we met before?"  
He nodded.

"This morning, at the train station? I-I just wanted to say, thank you again." She paused to think before she replied.

"Oh, no, that's... That's alright. You didn't need to thank me again, it was just a note." She shot him a polite smile, and before he could say anything else she seemed to be off in her own little world. She was staring slightly upwards and to the side, and just stood there. After a moment, he decided to make his way back to Dojima. He sighed dejectedly as he walked. Why did he think he'd be able to talk to someone without bothering them?

"Ready to get going?" Dojima asked him. He half-heartedly nodded in response, and with that, they got into the car and headed to Dojima's house.

* * *

After arriving home and unpacking his bag, Dojima called him downstairs. He found him and Nanako sitting at a small table in their living room. Dojima gestured for him to sit down, and when he did he was given a can of Melon Soda.

"You're, uh, okay with that? Right?"

Yu nodded and popped the tab, and Dojima quietly sighed with relief.

"Good, Good... Anyway, let's have a toast. To a good year together." They all raised their drinks and took a sip. Dojima set his cola down on the table, and turned to him.

"So... Your mom and dad are busy as always... They're working overseas, was it?"

Yu gave a slight nod. "Something came up with my mother's business, and they had to head out to see a partner in America. They just kind of unlocked the door, came in and told me I'd be heading out here..." He slowly trailed off after that point, realizing he'd already answered Dojima's question and was being disrespectful. Dojima paused as if waiting for him to speak again, and when he didn't, he adopted a slightly worried expression before awkwardly continuing on.

"Well, uh... I-I know it's only for a year, but getting stuck in a place like this because of your parents... it's rough, being a kid-"

"No no no, I-I don't mind, it's not their fault after all-" He stopped and threw his head down in apology. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you sir. Please forgive me."

There was a pause, a sigh, and then a hand on his shoulder. He looked up slowly to see Dojima smiling gently at him.

"Look kid; let's square off on some things. First, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Dojima, okay? Second, there's no need to worry so much. I don't mind if ya cut me off, alright? You weren't being rude about it, so it's no sweat. And third, there's no need to panic. What your parents don't know won't hurt'em, eh?" He winked and playfully punched Yu in the shoulder. Yu just stared blankly at him, in shock. Dojima chuckled and turned to Nanako.

"Look at him, huh? Acting like he's just seen a ghost!"

Nanako giggled slightly, but still seemed to be concerned about how Yu felt. On that note, he didn't know how to feel. Was what Dojima said really okay...? Dojima interrupted his thoughts with an encouraging grin.

"Look, I dunno how your parents were, but this is a laid back house alright? As long as you're here, as long as you're well-behaved, sensible and responsible, do whatever you want. I dunno how much your mom tells you, but I used to be quite the handful in my younger days..." Dojima said wistfully. Nanako looked up at her father questioningly, and when Dojima noticed he quickly explained, "O-Oh, I really just meant that I used to be... 'energetic', when I was younger."

"Oooh", Nanako said, nodding.

Dojima gave a quiet sigh of relief, and turned back to Yu. "So promise me, eh? Promise me that as long as you're well behaved, you'll let yourself loose a little? At least as long as you're here?"

Yu thought about this for a little while. _I could let loose? Act how I want? I could speak my mind, do what I felt like?_ His mind was blank at the prospect, but he couldn't help but properly smile for what felt like the first time in forever.

"Alright, s... Dojima." he said, nodding.

Dojima immediately seemed more at ease upon hearing it. He gave a mischievous smile. "It'll be our little secret", he laughed. "Anyway, now that we've dealt with that, it's really just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice having someone else around for a change. So long as you're here, you're part of the family, so make yourself at home." Yu smiled at Dojima.

"Thank you for your kindness sir-" he was cut off by Dojima raising his hand and making a game show buzzer sound. He pointed at Yu and gave him an expectant look.

"Ooh, uhm..." Yu fidgeted a little with the words. "T-Then... I-I'll do just that." He said. It felt weird to say, but once he had, a lot of tension left him.

"Theeere we go", Dojima smiled. "Now maybe you and Nanako can relax a little!" he laughed.

Nanako gave a start, and then looked down embarrassedly. Dojima looked at her with a hint of what Yu thought was sadness, despite the smile he wore, then began rubbing his hands together.

"Well, let's eat."

Just as they began eating, Dojima's phone rang. He immediately sighed in frustration, and got up, taking the phone out of his pocket. "Ugh... Who's calling at this hour?" He clicked a button and raised the phone to his ear. "Dojima speaking. Mmhm. Yeah? I see... So where is it?" He made his way towards the door. "Uuh-huh? Alright, I'm on my way." He sighed as he clicked the phone shut and dropped it into his pocket. "Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze... Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me."

Nanako looked... less disappointed than Yu thought she'd be. Dojima continued, pulling his jacket on, suddenly in somewhat of a hurry.

"I-I dunno how late I'll be. Nanako, you help him out okay?"

Nanako gave a small nod and sighed. "...Okay."

He could hear the door opening, and then the sound of rain.

"Nanako, it's raining out. What did you do with the laundry?!" Dojima called back from the front door, possibly looking for an umbrella in his rush.

"I already brought it in earlier!" She responded.

"...Alright. Well, I'm off." After that, the front door closed and the house fell into silence. After a few moments, Nanako turned on the TV and they watched the weather forecast for the week. Nanako spoke up after a little while.

"...Lets eat." Yu nodded in agreement, and they began eating in silence. Yu figured he should at least try and break the ice.

"...Must be tough for you." He tried.

"It's always like this." she replied almost instantly.

"Oh, uh, I can relate... Well, what does he do?"

"My dad's a detective." She said, finishing a bite of her food. Yu's eyebrows shot up. Dojima was a detective? Maybe that was how he saw through his awkwardness so easily... but, before either of them had a chance to continue, the TV played a small jingle that caught both of their attention. They both looked at the screen.

"And now for the local news. City council secretary Taro Namatame is under fire for an alleged relationship with a female reporter. His wife, enka ballad sensation Misuzu Hiiragi, revealed to this station that she will likely pursue damages. In response, Eye Television has decided to cancel all of announcer Mayumi Yamano's televised appearances. Until allegations of an affair with Mr. Namatame are resolved, she'll remain off the air and out of the public eye..."  
The TV report went on, but was cut short by Nanako switching the channel.

"...That was boring." she said, flicking through TV Channels. She immediately stopped when she came across an ad for the popular chain supermarket, Junes.

"At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day. Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products! Every day's great at your Junes!"  
At the sound of the store's famous jingle, Nanako's eyes lit up.

"Every day's great at your Junes!" Nanako sang along happily. Yu smiled a little awkwardly at her, but when Nanako noticed she immediately quieted down and blushed.

"...Aren't you gonna eat?" She asked a minute later. Yu panicked and immediately dug in.

* * *

Dojima paused as he was starting up the car. Neikan had told him to call her immediately if Yu stepped out of line, but the boy seemed nothing but polite, if not even fearful of authority. He frowned to himself as something else clicked. When Yu told him about his parents leaving, he said they'd "Unlocked the door" when they came to speak to him. What door would they be unlocking to speak to Yu, and why was it locked in the first place?

What had happened in the few years they lost touch when he moved to Inaba? And more importantly, why did Yu seem like he was expecting to be reprimanded any time he acted like a normal kid...? He pushed the thought to the back of his mind for now.

He had to get to work.

* * *

 **And with that, the first chapter's done.**

Like I mentioned at the start, I'll keep an eye on the feedback I receive before publishing the next chapter, so I can make any edits or adjustments accordingly. So, hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope I'll see you in the next one!


	2. Chapter 2: A Premonition

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone!

First off, I want to thank everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed the story so far, or is keeping an eye on it, because it really does mean a whole lot to me. On that note, I also want to say I'm glad people have liked it so far and are looking forward to more, and I hope I'm able to keep everyone interested and enjoying it as the story goes on. As I said, I'll keep my eyes on the reviews and take any advice, ideas or criticisms to heart, so if you have opinions, lemme hear'em! I'm really just glad I can write about a game I love and share it with other people, so if there's anything I can do to make it better or entertain you guys more, I'm always interested.

Secondly, since no-one's said I need to change anything yet, I went ahead and took a chunk of the story I've already edited and decided I'd upload it earlier than planned! Unfortunately it's smaller than the last chapter, but that's because I'm in the middle of editing the next part and it's not entirely ready, but I still wanted to put out something for people to read over while I get it ready. I'm hoping the change in pace will make up for the shorter length. I also wanted to make this differ from the in-game version a bit, so I decided to toss something small onto the end. It's not much, but I just wanted to keep things a little more interesting - as a little hint, take the chapter's name into account.

Lastly, I'll try not to throw too many of these Author's Notes at the beginning of every chapter. I just feel compelled to say Hi to you guys all the time, but I get that if you're reading this in one big go, it kinda interrupts the flow of it, so I'll try and keep these a bit more sparse, or at the least shorter. Then again, I suppose you guys can tell me what you'd prefer if it bothers you, so I guess just let me know and I'll take it on board.

 **My awkward ramblings aside, let's actually get to the story.**

* * *

Yu looked around the room he was borrowing from Dojima. He had left him the usual things; wardrobe, a chest of drawers, a desk with stationery and a metal shelf rack, and a TV. He approached the TV, stared at the blank screen. He pushed the power button, and to his surprise, the TV _actually_ turned on. Already this place was different from his room at home.

He turned the TV off, and sighed as he glanced the unpacked contents of his bag around the room, like his music player, Study CDs and study books. In the corner of the room was a futon Dojima had prepared for him. Yu looked at the clock, and saw it was 11 O'Clock. At home, he would be expected to study a little more, but... well, Dojima said he could do what he wanted, and it wasn't like one night of skipped studying would hurt...

A little sheepishly, he got changed and climbed into the futon. Immediately after, he found himself listening for the usual footsteps of his father coming to check on him. But nothing came. More tension left his body as he settled down _. Already I can tell this year's gonna be different. I just wonder how different..._  
When he remembered school started tomorrow, he rolled onto his side, and before long he was asleep.

* * *

The black veil of sleep melted away, and he was looking up. As consciousness came back to him, he realised he was on his back. He got to his knees, looked around... and had no idea where he was. There was a thick fog covering everything in front of him, and looking at the floor told him he was standing on something made of red squares. Following what he could see of the ground, he could make out that there was a single path cleared through the fog. He didn't feel right about it, but with no other options he moved forward.

After walking a fair distance and seeing nothing, a voice rang out from somewhere.

"Do you seek the truth...?" It asked.

He jumped and spun around. There was no-one here that he could see. The voice was pretty loud, so it had to be close, but he would have seen something if it was that close. Nothing felt right about any of this, but something carried him forward anyway. Another while later, the voice spoke up again.

"If it's the truth you desire, come and find me..."

"Who's there?!" He shouted out of instinct, but no answer came. This time, the voice had definitely come from up ahead. He didn't like this at all. Nothing the voice was asking him made sense. There were butterflies in his stomach and his heart was pounding. He came upon a black and red wall blocking the path, humming slightly. He reached out and tapped the center, causing the wall to merge and collapse within itself. On the other side of this 'door', the fog was even heavier than it had been outside. Despite this, he could make out a figure in the fog. It began speaking in the voice that he had heard outside.

"So... You are the one pursuing me..."

He didn't know when it had happened, but there was now a katana in his hands. He gasped and stumbled back, but he couldn't drop it. It was as if this sword was a part of him. He looked forward, and from what little he could make out the figure seemed to be moving slightly. He raised the sword in front of him with his left hand and supported the blade with his right hand, bracing himself, expecting an attack. He had no idea why, but this felt surprisingly natural...

"Hmhmhm... Try all you like..."

The figure seemed amused at him defending himself, but made no movement. No attempt to do anything. He opened his eyes to see it standing exactly where it had been. The whispers he'd heard at the gas station came back, but vanished as quickly as they came. Suddenly he had an idea. He acted on this new impulse and did the next best thing he could think of - he rushed the figure and swung his katana into it. He felt the katana connect with something, applied a little extra pressure, and felt the blade tear through something in response. He fell forward a little and turned around to face the figure, only to see it remain where it was, as it was.

"Hmmm... It seems that you can see a little, despite the fog... That is very interesting information indeed..."

 _What the hell is this thing...?_

There was a new sensation now. The whispers became a buzzing in his head, and a pressure in his gut, followed by pins and needles in his right arm. He looked up to see a small card float down from above. His arm, moving on its own, extended forward. The card floated down into his palm, where it gently began to spin. He crushed the card in his hand and it exploded like glass, before something else exploded in the back of his mind and a dark, slender figure appeared above him. It moved slightly, and lightning came crashing down on the figure in the fog. Other than momentarily shrinking, it didn't seem to react to it at all, instead continuing its train of thought.

"But... You will not catch me so easily... If what you seek is "truth," then your search will be even harder..."

The figure pulsated red, and then even thicker fog drifted out from it. In panic, Yu swung out wildly at the approaching fog, only to throw himself off-balance and land on his ass. He saw the figure in front of him and swung his katana through it, and in response it fell apart and dissipated. Despite that, from somewhere he couldn't see, the figure spoke again.

"Everyone sees what they want to... And the fog only deepens..."

From where he just slashed what must have been a copy of the figure, more fog came pouring in. He crawled away from it, thinking desperately of something - anything - he could do. Meanwhile, the figure droned on in that monotonous tone. It didn't seem to be interested in him particularly, but more his presence here.

"...Will we meet again...? At a place other than here... Hmhm... I look forward to it..."

Yu suddenly realized his vision was fading. His muscles went numb, and he grew colder. As he lay on the ground, the figure drifted slowly into view, seemingly staring right at him.

"Do be careful." it said, a threatening tone creeping into it's words. As it began cackling, a vision flashed in his mind - 7 people, the faces of whom he couldn't see or make out, being dragged down into darkness. A heart-rending fear and panic overcame him, but he could do nothing but watch. Then it came - the scream. The scream of a girl. The scream of someone close to him - someone _very_ close to him.

With that, everything faded to black.


End file.
